City approves new Old Town development

Burleson City Council approved a public-private partnership with the developer, BTX Old Town, during their regularly scheduled city council meeting on Dec. 14. The new development will double the size of Old Town’s core by bringing over 50,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space to the Old Town Area.

The project will occur in two locations in Old Town, 135 W. Ellison St. and 114 W. Ellison Street.

The development at 135 W Ellison St. will consist of seven buildings and will include 29,755 square feet of retail space and 22,050 square feet of office space. There will also be a new parking lot constructed at 140 W. Bufford St. in conjunction with the development that will offer 64 new spaces.

The developer has already signed their first tenant for the 135 W. Ellison St. location, Heim Barbecue. Heim Barbecue is a leader in Texas Barbecue and is proud to boast that all of their ingredients are locally sourced. Travis and Emma Heim started their business from a food truck in 2014 and quickly grew into their first storefront on Magnolia in Fort Worth. They opened their second location in the River District in Fort Worth, and last month, they opened a third location in Dallas. Burleson will be home to their fourth location.

We are excited to bring another quality development to our community,” said Burleson Mayor Chris Fletcher. “We look forward to welcoming Heim Barbecue to Old Town, as we continue our goal to bring great places to eat, shop and work to our city.”

The development at 114 W Ellison Street will consist of 5,500 square feet of retail space and 5,500 square feet of office space.

As part of this project, the city will be relocating city staff that currently office at the city-owned building located at 225 W. Renfro Street. The city will have offices in approximately 12,000 square feet of the buildings that will be located at 135 W. Ellison St. The relocation of staff will provide a better customer experience for development and utility billing customers. The city will then remove the building at 225 W. Renfro St. and reconfigure the parking lot to provide additional parking. The lot at 225 W. Renfro St. will be available for commercial redevelopment.

"The City of Burleson is proud to partner with the BTX Old Development Group," said Burleson City Manager Bryan Langley. “Their vision for the development will complement much of the work that has been done recently in Old Town, and we are excited about the prospect of bringing additional restaurant, office and retail tenants to the city."

This project includes new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping to ensure pedestrian mobility within the new development and to the newly added parking lots.

Construction is set to begin in early 2022, with completion in the first quarter of 2023. Additional phases will be constructed as new users are identified.

“Our team is honored to develop such an important and culturally significant project for Old Town Burleson,” said Matt Aiken of BTX Old Town. “This expansion of the city’s historic core will be the largest in the history of Burleson. We believe this project, along with the new Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza, will cement Old Town Burleson as a community and regional destination for decades to come.”

View more information about the Ellison Street project here.